What happens if the other party lies under oath?
Short answer
In Canada, everyone commits perjury who, with intent to mislead, makes a false statement under oath or solemn affirmation, in an affidavit, a solemn declaration or written or oral testimony, knowing that the statement is false (s. 131 of the Criminal Code).
In detail
Subsection 131(2) specifies that the rule applies whether or not the statement is made in a judicial proceeding. Perjury is a criminal offence: prosecutions are brought by the state, not by the opposing party in a civil case.
Before a civil court, the mechanics are different. Article 277 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that a witness swears under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is then for the judge to assess each person's credibility in light of the evidence. That is where dated documents make the difference: they do not depend on anyone's memory or good faith.
At the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL, Quebec's rental board), as before the courts of justice, the parties undertake by solemn affirmation to tell the truth at the very start of the hearing.
What to document
The contemporaneous documents that contradict the other side's version: messages, emails, statements, time-stamped photos. Note precisely what was asserted, when, and which exhibit contradicts it.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Criminal Code, s. 131 (Laws of Canada)
- Code of Civil Procedure, art. 277 (Légis Québec)
- How a hearing unfolds (Tribunal administratif du logement)
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.